Elizabeth walked up to Steve who stood off to the side by himself. Bruce made some last minute adjustments to the time machine as Natasha, Bucky and Sam conversed between the three of them, laughing every now and then.

"Are you sure about this?" Elizabeth asked Steve as he tightened the straps on his Captain America suit. She knew about his plans, to go back to the time that he came from. Elizabeth couldn't say that she agreed with his choice, for all they knew there could be some secret time police who would bring him right back here.

Plus, not to mention all the things he's leaving behind. "I mean like do you really wanna go back to a time without the internet?" Elizabeth continued to ask Steve, wanting him to know how big of a decision he was making. "And your tv would be black and white, that is no way to watch Star Wars. Oh my god, you won't even have Star Wars! Or even Game of Thrones!"

Steve laughed at her attempt to change his mind. He didn't say anything to her arguments, only nodding along now and then as if considering her points. When he really wasn't and they both knew it. After a minute of silence he still didn't answer her, suddenly too engrossed in the hole on his suit by his left elbow.

Elizabeth sighed at his silence. "Look if it's really what you want, I won't stop you." Elizabeth looked to the side as she met his eyes. "But I just have to know that you're doing what you think is right."

The man beside her let her words rattle around in his head for a moment. "So, I'm gonna ask you one more time." Elizabeth looked at Steve sternly, letting him know that she was serious. "Are you sure about this?"

Steve clicked his tongue to the roof of his mouth before moving his gaze away from Elizabeth to his friends that stood away from them. His eyes passed over Sam, knowing that there wasn't another man who he'd rather give up his mantle to. He nodded to himself, knowing that that was the correct decision, whether he went back or not, Sam was going to be Captain America.

Then his eyes landed on Bucky. Steve knew that he would never have considered leaving Bucky alone, no matter what the circumstances were, even if Bucky had given Steve his best when he ran the idea over him and Elizabeth. But when he saw how his best friend smiled at Elizabeth across the field, Steve knew that his friend would be okay.

Finally, Steve looked to Natasha and found that his breath caught in his throat. He let his eyes rest as he looked at her for a little while. He watched how she laughed at something Sam had said and threw her head back. He clenched his jaw tightly and pushed away his doubts.

"I'm going," Steve confirmed to Elizabeth as he pulled his eyes away from Natasha. "I'm sure," he repeated and Elizabeth hung her head in disappointment.

"Okay," Elizabeth said as she tried to keep her voice even.

"It's ready," Bruce announced to the group as the smaller version of the time travel machine came to life. In the center of the clearing, on a raised platform, there were three poles arranged in a triangle as they thrummed with energy. Bruce pressed a button and the machine whirred to life, a small glow coming from both the poles.

Steve bent over and hugged Elizabeth tightly. "Take care of him for me," Steve requested before the two pulled apart.

"You know I will," Elizabeth told him as Steve nodded, not doubting her for a second. "Enjoy it," Elizabeth added with a sly smile as Steve took a few steps away from her.

"Thank you," Steve said as he stopped in his tracks. "For everything."

"Anytime," Elizabeth nodded at him before lifting her hand up to salute him playfully with a smile.

Elizabeth then watched as he went over and hugged Bucky, the two exchanging a few words quietly before hugging tightly. Both of them held on for just a little bit longer before they separated.

Bucky smiled at Steve one last time before he walked over to stand by the other side of the time travel machine beside Elizabeth. She grabbed his hand in hers and squeezed it lightly, and Bucky squeezed her hand back.

Sam and Natasha stood on the other side of the machine as Steve passed them, giving the two quick smiles. He didn't want to let them know his plan and his big surprise for Sam. But as he passed Natasha, she stopped him as she grabbed his arm.

Natasha looked like she had something to say but she couldn't find the words. So instead, Natasha smiled up at him before reaching up to press a light kiss to his cheek. Steve seemed somewhat taken aback at the gesture but he simply smiled before climbing up the steps to the machine.

Elizabeth and Bucky exchanged wary glances at the interaction between the redhead and blond but they decided not to dwell on it. They all watched as Steve picked up the briefcase that held all the stones in one hand. He tapped on the wrist of his suit and the red and white time travel suit spread out until it had completely covered him up.

"How long is this gonna take?" Sam asked Bruce worriedly as he shifted his gaze from Steve to Bruce.

"For him as long as he needs," Bruce said with a shrug. "But for us it'll be like five seconds."

Picking up Mjolnir that laid on the platform, Steve looked back at Bruce with a nod. "You ready, Cap?" Bruce asked as Steve nodded. "Alright, then we'll meet you back here."

"You bet," Steve said before he sent one last smile to Bucky before he activated the helmet on his suit.

Bruce turned back to the buttons on the control panel and shifted the lever as he spoke. "Going quantum in three, two, one." He counted down before pressing the large red button with his fist.

There was a flash of light before Steve Rogers was gone.

"And returning in five, four, three, two, one." Bruce counted down once again and pressed the same button as before. The machines thrummed with energy but the spot where Steve should have reappeared stayed empty.

Sam looked at Bruce in confusion when none of them saw the blond man come back. "Where is he?" Sam asked as Bruce frowned at his control panel, checking all the buttons and setting twice over.

"I don't know," Bruce said somewhat panicked. "He blew right by his time stamp, he should have been here."

Elizabeth looked up at Bucky sadly as he rested his head on top of hers. The two of them knew better than to ask Bruce to bring Steve back. Sam continued to ask Bruce about Steve's whereabouts frantically but Natasha stayed quiet beside him.

Out of the corner of her eye, Elizabeth watched as a frail figure emerged from the tree line and walked over to the bench that overlooked the lake. The figure walked slowly as they carried a large round bag beside them.

She tugged on Bucky's hand and brought him with her as she took a few steps forward to get a closer look at the figure who now sat on the bench with their back facing them. "Is that..." Bucky trailed off from his question when he saw Elizabeth nod slowly, both of them staring ahead.

"Guys" Elizabeth called the two over. Natasha came to stand beside Elizabeth and Sam stood on the other side of Bucky. Elizabeth looked behind her and saw Bruce readjust his glasses as his gaze followed the rest of theirs.

Natasha was the first one to step forward. She walked ahead with every intention to go up to Steve but she found herself rooted in place before she could make it ten feet ahead. The other three followed her lead and stood beside her in the same position as before.

"Go ahead," Bucky told Sam.

Sam looked at the man in surprise, not liking how calm he looked at all of this. He turned to look at Elizabeth to check if she shared the same expression. Elizabeth looked at the older man with a small smile on her face as she nodded her head at him.

Sam looked around to see if anyone else would tell him any differently but Natasha kept her eyes steady on the head of white hair in front of them. When he saw that no one else had anything left to say, Sam slowly walked up to Steve.

As the two conversed up ahead, no one else could hear what they were saying but Bucky and Elizabeth had a vague idea of what the two were talking about. But when Elizabeth turned to Natasha, her face didn't convey the confusion or shock that she had expected to see.

"You knew," Elizabeth breathed out when she saw the way Natasha looked at Steve. As if she had been expecting this.

Natasha sighed before she finally looked at Elizabeth "I knew he wasn't going to come back." Natasha shrugged. "At least not the same," she added as she looked back at Steve who spoke with his hand over Sam's.

Elizabeth looked back at her with a sad gaze. "Why didn't you tell him?" She asks Natasha, an unspoken understanding between them. "Why didn't you ask him to stay?" Elizabeth knew that if Natasha had been the one to ask Steve the question, she knew he would have at least taken a couple of days to consider it.

"I can't do that to him," Natasha answered and Elizabeth felt a twinge of sadness coming from the other woman. "He deserves that life, away from here, where he's meant to be." And Elizabeth knew that Natasha had a good point.

Bucky placed his arm around Elizabeth's waist as she leaned into his side. The three of them watched in proud silence as Steve handed the Captain America shield to Sam. "That's my boy," Elizabeth murmured in pride as she saw Sam hold the shield up to his body.

The two exchanged a few more words before Sam walked up to them with his new shield in hand. Elizabeth was the first one to run up to him and engulf him in a hug, careful not to injure herself on the shield.

"So proud of you," Elizabeth told him with a grin as she pinched both his cheeks like a grandmother would. Sam swatted her hand away before he looked between Natasha and Bucky.

"You okay with this?" He asked nervously as he lifted the shield in his hands.

Bucky nodded when he saw Sam was still waiting for his answer. "There's no other person I'd rather have carry it," Bucky assured Sam and Elizabeth watched as the two shared their first genuine smile.

Movement up ahead made them all look back at Steve. The now old man stood up from his seat on the bench and began to walk away. But he stopped as if remembering something and for the first time, he turned to face the four of them properly.

"Natasha," Steve called out and his voice was gravelly and low. All of them tried not to focus too much on how 'old' he looked but instead listened to what the man had to say to their friend. "I got that life you two told me to get," Steve continued before turning to Elizabeth and sending a quick wink her way.

Natasha cleared her throat before answering the old man. "It looks good on you," she replied.

"Now it's your turn," Steve said with a friendly smile that they all managed to see their Steve in. "All of you," he added as he nodded to each of them, letting himself hold Bucky's eyes for a second longer. He smiled at the four of them one last time and waved a hand up to Bruce before he walked away for good.

The four of them stood there in silence as they stared at the spot where Steve had just been. Not one of them could find the right words to say about what had just happened to their friend. So when Bruce spoke, his voice startled all of them.

"Well," he started as they all turned around to see him packing his things up. "See you all on the holidays."

Natasha looked at him incredulously as he made a move to leave the scene. "What about this giant time machine?" She gestured to the machine in the middle of the woods. "You think Pepper's gonna like this?"

"I'll come back to move it in a couple of days," Bruce waved her concerns away before he walked away with his briefcase in hand. "See you!" He put his index and middle finger up in a peace sign as he walked away.

The group shook their heads at the large man before they turned to face each other. Elizabeth went back to Bucky's side as he took her hand in his. "Where are you going now?" Elizabeth asked Natasha.

"I'm not sure," Natasha shrugged as she put her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket. "Maybe I'll go see my other family."

"Ah, yes. Family reunions," Elizabeth mused. "Those can be tough." She would know, she's had her fair share of experience.

There was light laughter among the four of them. "Be sure to keep in touch," Sam told her with a nod. Natasha nodded before hugs went all around, everyone muttering a see you soon.

Elizabeth held on to both of Natasha's hands in hers when they had separated from their hug. "I'll miss you," Elizabeth said.

"I know," Natasha replied with a smirk as Elizabeth pushed her away playfully. They all watched as Natasha walked off between the trees, her red hair disappearing the further she got away from them.

Tugging on Bucky's hand, Elizabeth led him to the bench where Steve had sat earlier. Elizabeth sat down on the bench and patted the spot beside her. Bucky sat down before pulling Elizabeth closer to his side. The two of them stared out at the lake in front of them with content smiles on their faces.

"Where do you wanna go next?" Bucky asked her as he kissed the top of her head.

She hummed in response as she thought of how to answer him. "I'll go wherever you're going," she decided to say as she moved her head so that she looked up at him.

"How does Brooklyn sound to you?" Bucky inquired her.

"Sounds like home," Elizabeth told him before she leaned up and pressed their lips together.

"Not on my watch!" They heard Sam exclaim along with the sound of his furious footsteps approaching them.

Thank you!

So this is it. This is officially the end of the book. I'd just like to thank everyone who has read it up until this point for your countless support and just know that it means so so much to me. And I really hope that you guys enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. This is goodbye for now.

All the love,
H.